WEBVTT 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:07.519 The scripture reading this morning is found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:14.160 I will be reading verses 15 through 17. 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:21.199 If you don't have a Bible with you, you can find it in the Pew Bible located there in front of you on page 877. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:41.920 And if you don't own a Bible, you don't have a Bible at home or your apartment, you don't have one that you have ready access to, I want to encourage you at the close of this service to take that Bible that you're using right now, that Pew Bible that you're holding in your hands, and take it home with you as our gift to you. 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:43.600 We want you to have it. 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:50.960 We think it's so important for you to have a copy of God's word that you can read and study for yourself. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:56.159 And so please, as our gift, take that with you at the close of the service. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.600 The Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, beginning in verse 15. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:11.840 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:23.599 But Jesus called them to him, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belong the kingdom of God. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:30.719 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:34.400 This is God's word. 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:43.680 We're back in Luke this morning, and we come across an interesting event and uh that's sandwiched between two well-known stories. 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:47.439 Jesus here is on his way to Jerusalem. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:53.359 He has resolutely set his face towards Jerusalem, towards the cross. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:04.079 In fact, uh shortly he will tell his twelve disciples, uh, see, we are going to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:09.680 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:15.280 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise. 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:24.960 If you're looking at the passage, you notice just prior to this, Jesus had told them the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:34.719 And he told them this parable, Luke says, uh, because some trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:56.000 And we find in that story it was not the proud, self-righteous Pharisee that went a home that went home justified, but it was the broken, humbled tax collector who recognized that he had nothing to offer and cried out for mercy and grace. 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:08.319 Following this, we're going to see the story of the rich young ruler, this rich young man who comes to Christ to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:16.240 He wants to know what it is that he needs to do to perform in order to have eternal life. 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:18.479 He's proud and self-righteous. 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:25.439 In fact, we'll see that he tells Jesus that he has kept all of the commandments since he was a child. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:40.000 In all three of these stories, the Pharisee and the tax collector, this one of the children coming to Jesus and the rich young ruler, Jesus is answering the same question. 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:42.639 How does a person enter the kingdom of God? 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:47.280 In other words, how is a person forgiven and receive eternal life? 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:53.840 On the surface, this event here in verses 15 through 17 is very straightforward. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:58.879 Jesus is going along and was common in that day. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:06.319 There were people that were bringing their children to Jesus, even their babies, their infants, for Jesus to bless. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.280 And this was perfectly understandable. 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:11.759 Parents want the best for their children. 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:24.399 Here was a rabbi, here was one who was coming that word had spread of his fame, of the miracles that he had performed, of the words that he had said that were like none other. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:34.319 And it wasn't uncommon for parents to take their children, even their infant babies, to Jesus, to great rabbis. 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:40.160 And so these parents are bringing their children to Jesus. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:45.600 In fact, as far back as Genesis, we can see the laying on of hands and the pronouncement of blessing. 00:04:45.759 --> 00:05:00.240 For instance, it says in Genesis 48, and Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:05.439 And here Jacob pronounces a blessing on these children. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:13.120 But as they were bringing the babies, these children, to Jesus, the apostles intervene. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:22.639 It says, if you notice in verse 15, as when they were bringing the infants to him that he might touch them, the disciples saw it and they rebuked the parents. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:26.800 What's the deal with the apostles here? 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:29.040 What's going on with them? 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:32.959 What's the perspective of the apostles? 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:38.720 And we don't know what was going on in their hearts, and there's a lot of different possibilities. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:41.920 Perhaps they had good motives. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:43.920 Maybe they had good motives. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:47.920 They thought, well, surely Jesus was tired at this point. 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:51.439 Perhaps they were protecting him from more activity. 00:05:51.680 --> 00:06:03.199 Jesus had been in ministry and was going along, and perhaps they were protecting him from overwork, from more activity. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:16.800 Or perhaps Jesus, knowing that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and they had a growing sense of things coming to a head, maybe they just didn't want Jesus to be distracted from his mission. 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:20.240 Maybe they had good motives for what they were doing. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:28.639 Or it could be that they saw the stress on Jesus' face as they moved towards Jerusalem and they wanted to prevent added pressure. 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:34.399 And so it could be that the apostles had good motives for what they were doing here. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:42.079 Of course, it's possible that they also may have had wrong motives for their actions here. 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:48.079 Maybe they thought that children were insignificant and unworthy of Jesus. 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:55.439 He only had 24 hours in the day and 365 days in the year. 00:06:55.680 --> 00:07:01.040 He didn't have time for everyone, and he needed to make time for the more important people. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:05.839 So maybe they looked at these children and thought that they were insignificant. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:13.680 Or they could have thought that these children were not old enough to be useful. 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:16.160 What difference would it make anyway? 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.480 Some of these children were just babies. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.839 They wouldn't even remember this encounter with Jesus. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:44.079 Or it could be, knowing human nature as it is, that perhaps they were jealous of the attention that Jesus was getting, that Jesus was giving them, that Jesus was turning his attention from the apostles to others, and perhaps they were jealous of the attention that Jesus gave to these children. 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:50.560 Don't we often do that when someone else gets the attention that we believe belongs to us? 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:57.920 Or it could be, and again we don't know, but it could be that maybe they didn't like children. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:02.000 Some people see children as a nuisance and a bother. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:10.160 I had an elderly friend, and I won't go on to too much detail because he could listen to this online. 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:18.560 But I had an elderly friend that he he loved children as long as they weren't in his presence or bothered him in any way. 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:25.680 And in some ways, he was a great guy, but he just did not like children. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:27.360 And it was the craziest thing. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:37.360 I would be up preaching, and if and and he usually sat, I can still picture, he usually sat on the, you know, and everyone by the way, you all sit in the same spots most of the time. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:41.360 It's funny when we have combined services and your spots taken. 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:48.960 You know, I I watch you on Christmas Eve, you try to get there early and and you know, and put some a place marker down so that you have your spot. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:56.720 And and this guy, I can see he always sat on the on the right hand side, my left hand side, about five rows back from the front. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:04.000 And but it but but woe to the mother whose child made a sound during the service. 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:23.200 Because I would watch this man, and I could see the whole thing, because I would watch him, and he would turn and he would look and he would stare at that mother until they made eye contact, and he communicated clearly his displeasure and disdain at that child. 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:31.360 Unfortunately, most of the time it was first-time visitors who weren't second-time visitors. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:35.519 I actually had some friends of mine that they they had this experience. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:48.480 They stayed at the church and they told me jokingly, they said, Well, when we didn't do anything, he found us after the service in the lobby to make sure we knew never to do that again. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.600 And I talked to the guy and he's like, No, I love children. 00:09:55.039 --> 00:09:56.559 In the other room. 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:04.240 And maybe, I don't know, but perhaps the disciples here just were irritated. 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:09.519 You know, we we don't know why they were doing this, but we see their actions. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.240 Maybe they had good motives and they did the wrong thing. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:14.480 Maybe they had bad motives and they did the wrong thing. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:20.159 But but whatever the case, whatever the case, we see their actions. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:28.159 And they see these parents bringing the children, bringing these infants to Jesus, and they rebuke the parents. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:53.200 Uh we know here that uh it was both mothers and fathers because the word that's used here for them is a masculine plural, so it would have been the both of the parents with some of these children, the mothers and fathers, they were bringing their infants, their small children, their toddlers, they were bringing them to Jesus so that Jesus might lay his hands on them and pray for them and bless them. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:58.000 And the disciples saw this and they rebuked them. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:00.399 Don't bring those kids here. 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:02.960 Don't bring your children to Jesus. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:12.720 We don't know what was going on in their hearts, but clearly they saw these children differently than Jesus did. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:17.360 Either way, whatever their motive might have been, we don't know. 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:25.759 We see their actions, but whatever it was, they didn't remember the heart of their Savior at this moment. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:39.759 They didn't remember the heart of Jesus towards all people, regardless of their status, regardless of who they were or what they could give, because they could give nothing. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:42.399 They forgot the heart of their Savior. 00:11:44.080 --> 00:12:01.440 Well, this doesn't justify the disciples' uh reactions here, but it's helpful to understand what the attitude was of the culture of the day towards children, because in many ways it's different from the attitude of most people today. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:08.639 And so, what was the attitude of uh the culture, the position uh of children in that culture? 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:16.080 So uh we we uh we saw the perspective of the apostles first, but what was the position of the children? 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:19.519 What was the view of children in Roman culture? 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:32.720 Well, the attitude in that culture until they were old enough to contribute something to the family, many people saw children as merely a burden to bear. 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:41.120 Children had no rights, they had no authority, they had no power, they had no status. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:46.720 In the eyes of most people, small children were non-entities. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:52.559 They did not hold a cherished place in people's hearts and minds and eyes. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:13:09.200 Parents would have cared for them and nurtured them and showed a level of love to them, but but the culture would have said that they were non-people, they had no status, they had no place, they had no rights, they were nobodies, they were nothings, they were insignificant. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:16.720 In fact, we even get glimpses of this when the Apostle Paul later acknowledges this in his letter to the Galatians. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:27.600 He's writing to the Galatians and he's he's talking about uh the gospel, and he talks about the coming of Christ and the change that happens with the cross. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:29.440 And he says this in passing. 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:35.440 He says, I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:41.039 Though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:48.399 Even in the family, until that child reached the age set by the father, uh, he was no different. 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:51.279 He had no more rights than a slave did. 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:57.440 You know, this attitude didn't change much in most of human history. 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:02.320 Uh, for much of human history, children were not viewed in an elevated status. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:26.879 In fact, the author and sociologist, the late Neil Postman, writes in his book, The Disappearance of Childhood, he tells us that until the advent of the printing press, until Gutenberg's printing press in the 1450s, uh, that the realization that there was a learning process that differentiated children from adults uh was not the case. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:29.440 Children were merely viewed as little adults. 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:34.000 As soon as they were old enough to do something, they were viewed as and treated as adults. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:37.200 They weren't treated in a different status, a different class. 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:40.559 They were expected to go out and to be productive. 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:42.960 Uh they were mini-adults. 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:49.120 They weren't separated, they weren't a separated group to be protected and educated. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:58.799 And in fact, we see this really moving up into even up to the 20th century prior to child labor laws in most Western countries. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:12.639 Uh as an aside, uh Postman argues that from the time of the creation of the printing press until uh the uh the late 20th century, children were increasingly valued and protected in Western society. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:28.559 But Postman argues, and I think convincingly and persuasively, that with the advent of television and other electronic media, the barriers that were set up to protect children and to treat them differently and distinctly from adults is eroding. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:34.320 And children are beginning to again be treated as little adults. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:47.440 And the protections that were put in place now are no more because of the easy access to images and messages on television and I would add on the internet. 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:53.440 But I digress as an aside to what's happening here. 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:58.799 Children were non-players, non-factors. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:02.480 Uh what is the reality of children? 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:07.200 We have to be careful that we don't let the pendulum go to the other side. 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:10.799 We have to be careful that we don't romanticize children either. 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:15.519 Often in our culture, children are viewed as being completely innocent. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:22.240 Our culture says that they're pure and innocent, and uh perhaps they're like a blank slate. 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:41.360 Uh one philosopher said, a tablo rasa, a blank slate, that uh that there is nothing in them inherently bad or bent towards evil, uh, but only the influences of society will move them there, that they're inherently good or uh merely a product of their environment. 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:44.879 But the Bible tells us something different about children. 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:50.000 The Bible is very realistic about uh about the reality of children. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:54.559 And the Bible says that children are by nature sinful. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:17:01.120 They're created by God, but they by nature are sinful, and they're born with a bent towards sin. 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:11.279 You may remember in Psalm 51, King David, as he's as he's writing this prayer of repentance, he pens these words. 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:17.519 He says, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:22.640 David is not saying that the act of procreation is inherently sinful. 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:29.200 This is the way that many in the Catholic Church understand this coming down from Augustine even to this day. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:38.240 But what David is saying here is that from the moment of conception he was tainted by sin, that he had a sinful nature from birth. 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:42.960 He didn't just learn sin, he was sinful by nature. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:53.200 And so what the Bible teaches us about children and all people is that children are inherently weak and needy and sinful. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:59.119 But the Bible also tells us that children are a blessing from the Lord. 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:13.200 As I was reflecting on this passage and thinking about the Roman culture, it really struck me that many today have the same attitude towards children as the Romans did in the days of Jesus. 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:22.319 In some ways, our culture often views children as a burden and a hindrance to the good life. 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:34.000 In fact, talking to couples, many times couples will put off having children for years and years so that they can pursue life and enjoy themselves. 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:41.920 Uh view, as they say, the good life before they're saddled with the burden and the responsibility of children. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:51.920 Solomon writes in Psalm 127, Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the root, the womb a reward. 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:57.440 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are the children of one's youth. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:01.279 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:06.160 He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:10.880 When God gives children, he gives a gift of grace. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:14.720 Children should be seen as a blessing, not a burden. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:21.440 When he says that they are our heritage, he uses the word that can be translated as an heirloom. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.200 Something to be treasured and cherished. 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:30.799 In fact, the Bible talks about having a large family as a blessing from the Lord. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:37.759 How different from our modern culture, where in the United States, the average family has 2.1 children. 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.720 I feel sorry for that 0.1 child. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:42.400 It's really small. 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:51.119 But children, the Bible says, are a blessing and not a burden. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:54.480 That we ought to see them as a gift from the Lord. 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:03.200 But we see here Jesus calling the children to himself and rebuking the rebukers. 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:07.519 And so, thirdly, I want to see now the promise of the Savior. 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.720 We see here the love of the Savior for all people. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:18.240 Whatever the apostles were thinking about Jesus at this point, they got it wrong. 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:20.799 They did not know his heart. 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:29.200 The Bible tells us that God is no respecter of persons, that he doesn't accept people on the basis of what they can give him. 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:36.319 In fact, God only accepts those who recognize that they can give him nothing. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:42.799 That God is all, that God is for all without distinction. 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:46.160 That God is no respecter of persons. 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:50.480 Notice the children and their parents were drawn to Jesus. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:57.279 There was clearly a compassion, a love, and an acceptance that radiated from him. 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:06.880 In fact, all those who were considered insignificant, marginalized, or unaccepted by the larger culture found acceptance in Jesus. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:18.559 And notice Jesus' attitude towards these that were considered insignificant, who were marginalized, who were thought of as nothing in the larger culture. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:20.480 Jesus calls them to himself. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:26.079 And here we see the reflection of the heart of Jesus. 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:28.720 This is the character of Jesus. 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:34.000 Jesus often calls those to himself that the world rejects. 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:39.599 In fact, the Apostle Paul would later comment, and he comments to us as well. 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:42.480 He says, For consider your calling, brothers. 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:48.079 Consider whom the Lord has worked in grace in their lives. 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:49.920 Consider yourselves. 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:55.599 As you look around in the church, as you look around among God's people. 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:59.279 He says, For consider your calling, brothers. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:21:59.759 Not many. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.799 Of you were wise according to worldly standards. 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:06.559 Not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:12.160 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:15.279 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:27.200 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.480 Jesus does not live by the standards of our culture. 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:44.000 It doesn't matter your background, if you have power, position, prestige, popularity, or possessions, they are of no count to the Savior. 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:46.640 God is no respecter of persons. 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:52.319 And we see here Jesus calling these children to himself. 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.240 And then Jesus gives a comparison. 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:57.920 He gives an analogy here. 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:02.079 He gives two comparisons to these children that are coming. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:06.640 Jesus gives two comparisons to little children in entering the kingdom of God. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:11.039 We see this at the end of verse 16 and into verse 17. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:24.240 The kingdom of God here in the broadest sense is the rule and reign of God, and to enter the kingdom is to come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:36.880 Now, Jesus is not saying here, and some misinterpret this, but Jesus is not saying here that infants are inherently saved by virtue of the fact of being babies. 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:39.359 That isn't Jesus' intent here. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:41.680 That is not the thrust of this passage. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:46.559 He is not saying that babies are inherently saved. 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:50.319 Neither is Jesus teaching anything about infant baptism. 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:56.640 Some try to use this passage as a means to explain or justify infant baptism. 00:23:56.799 --> 00:23:58.559 Baptism is not in view here. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:03.039 Notice Jesus is using this as a comparison. 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:05.839 Notice what he says in verse 16. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:14.640 He says, For to such, for to those like these children, belong the kingdom of God. 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:23.119 And in verse 17, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:34.319 So he is using children to make two comparisons between being like children and entering the kingdom of God. 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:39.680 And he's drawing out some characteristics of children that relate to the kingdom of God. 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:45.039 Not every characteristic or quality of children is to be commended. 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:48.720 And not every characteristic or quality of children is in view here. 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:54.559 He's not commending childishness, immaturity, naivety, or ignorance. 00:24:54.720 --> 00:25:03.519 He's not saying, well, in order to be a children, in order to enter the kingdom of God, you just need to be naive and not think about anything. 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:07.839 And you just need to be immature and ignorant. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:09.440 That isn't what Jesus is saying here. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:15.200 It's not every aspect or characteristic of children that Jesus is drawing out. 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:20.000 Neither, as I pointed out earlier, is he saying that children are inherently innocent. 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:34.160 But there are two comparisons that Jesus gives here, and I want to draw them out for you and apply them unto entrance for the kingdom of God, but also for those of us who know Christ. 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:39.680 For those of us who have a relationship with Christ, because this reality doesn't change. 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:44.160 First of all, notice what Jesus says at the end of verse 16. 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:50.880 He says, Do not hinder them, for to such belong the kingdom of God. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:56.880 So first, Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:59.680 So what does it mean to be like a child? 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:16.319 Well, as a child, as we mentioned, recognize, and this is what Jesus is saying here, recognize that you have no rights, no power, no status, no authority, and no inherent claim upon God. 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:21.920 Little children are unself-conscious and lack self-righteousness. 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:24.000 Children are inherently humble. 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:35.039 In fact, Jesus says this whoever humbles himself like this child, he says in Matthew 18, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:42.799 How unlike the proud Pharisee in the previous passage, and how like the tax collector. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:51.839 So what Jesus is saying is that the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:57.200 To come to faith in Christ, you need to realize that you have nothing to give to God. 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:02.720 There is nothing that you can do, there is nothing that you can offer him to earn his favor. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:09.920 There is no amount of work, there is no amount of good works, there is no amount of righteousness that you can give to God. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:24.000 You have no right, you have no status, you have no power, you have no authority, you have no claim upon his kingdom, but you come humbly to him and receive his grace. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:47.039 And so Jesus says that we come, that the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children, who come humbly, unself-consciously, with a lack of self-righteousness, not appealing to anything other than God's mercy and grace and the provision of the cross. 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:52.400 And notice Jesus secondly, he gives a second analogy here. 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:56.640 Jesus secondly says, to receive the kingdom of God, you must do so like a child. 00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:58.079 He says this in verse 17. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:05.039 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. 00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:10.000 So again, he talks about receiving the kingdom. 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:13.759 And what does it mean to receive like a child? 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:28.240 For those of you who have children, especially young children, small children, toddlers and younger, children naturally have a sense of openness, acceptance, and trust. 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:36.640 Children are completely oblivious to any expectation or obligation to give anything in return for a gift. 00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:41.200 They have no anticipation of having to pay for a gift. 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:46.559 They would never expect it, they would never think about it, they would never try to do it. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:56.960 A baby, for instance, completely trusts his mother to provide for him, to provide food, to provide shelter, to provide care. 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:04.880 Like little beggars reaching out for the gift of the king, they just receive with no thought of payment. 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:15.359 You know, I think about Christmas with my youngest child, and uh as she was opening Christmas presents, she uh she never bothered to say, Well, who gave this? 00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:18.319 Who who is all she did was received it. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:20.319 Here was a gift for her. 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:30.720 She had no thought of paying for it, no thought of, Dad, I need to pay you back because of how good you've been to me this Christmas and the things you've bought. 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:35.039 All she did was receive what was given to her freely. 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:43.359 She just reached out her hands as a gift was offered to her and she took it and opened it and made it her own. 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:46.079 That's the heart of little children. 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:52.240 If you walk up, in fact, as parents, we try to protect our children because we know that they will go up to anybody. 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:54.000 Little children will go up. 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:58.880 I remember Sophia when we were, when she was just able to walk. 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:02.480 I mean, she would walk up and sit in anybody's lap and talk to anybody. 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:07.200 She would accept anything from anybody because that is the nature of a child. 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:12.480 They don't think they have to give anything, they don't owe anything, they don't have to pay anything back. 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:17.519 All they do is receive what has been given to them. 00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:26.559 And Jesus says that is what it means. 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:35.920 And that is how a person enters into the kingdom of God by receiving it as a child. 00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:41.519 Like a like like beggars reaching out for the gift of a king. 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:46.880 Now, this truth cuts across our pride. 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:56.559 It cuts us to the quick because it challenges us right at the heart of where we are in our self-sufficiency and our independence. 00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:03.200 People don't want to admit that they're powerless, that they have nothing that they can give to God. 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:13.359 People don't want to admit that that they come empty-handed, that the only thing that they have to offer to God is their sin and their brokenness. 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:24.240 And so the gospel is an affront to people because of pride, self-sufficiency, and self-righteousness. 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:27.279 We want to earn God's favor. 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:29.519 We want to pay God back. 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:33.200 We want to say that we had a part in the process. 00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:37.920 But grace is only given to the undeserving. 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:44.000 And the only thing that we can do to receive is to receive what has been freely given to us. 00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:53.920 If you're here this morning and you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you don't know that when you die you're going to heaven. 00:31:54.160 --> 00:32:00.559 You don't know, you might say, I hope so or I think so, but I don't know where I'm going when I die. 00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:02.480 This message is for you. 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:09.440 This message is for you to say, God, I bring nothing but my brokenness. 00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:11.359 I bring nothing but my sin. 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:17.279 I come to you empty-handed but open-hearted to receive what you've given to me. 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:22.160 That Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:26.400 And I accept that, I believe it, I receive it. 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:31.519 And so if you're here and you've never accepted Christ, this message is for you. 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:39.039 But if you're here this morning and you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, this message is for you. 00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:44.640 Because somehow we do something very subtle with the gospel. 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:51.680 We think that the gospel is an entrance into the kingdom of God, but then we think from there on it's about us. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:54.079 It's about how hard we work. 00:32:54.240 --> 00:33:01.200 We think that, okay, Jesus, this is good for those who don't know Christ, but I know you, so now I need to start working. 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:03.920 Isn't that our hearts? 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:06.000 We want to bring something to God now. 00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:07.839 We want to bring God our good works. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:15.599 In fact, we think that God's grace is meted out to us in proportion to our effort and our good work. 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:29.920 We think now, on a daily, ongoing basis, that we earn God's favor by how hard we work and how much effort we exert and the things we bring to God. 00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:36.319 But the message of the kingdom of God is it is by grace from beginning to end. 00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:46.079 We receive grace freely, but it's the continuous response of the believer to God every day of his or her life. 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:50.960 I don't go to God in the morning and say, hey, God, look at what I did yesterday. 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:53.920 You know, I was pretty good, so today you owe me. 00:33:54.160 --> 00:34:06.799 You you you saw all the good works I did, and I spent all that time in your word and prayer, and so you know, God, now today I'm giving you yesterday, and so now today it's payback time. 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:21.840 We think in some ways that we can earn or be rewarded by our behavior, and not recognizing that the Christian life is a life of grace from beginning to end. 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:37.760 Like little children whom Jesus calls to himself and embraces in his arms, he receives each one of us and he holds each one of us by his grace alone, not because of our performance or our good works. 00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:45.760 Our acceptance by our Savior today is no more based on our merit than the day we were received into the kingdom of God. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:48.000 It is by grace alone. 00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:58.880 And so this message here isn't just for those who have yet to come into eternal life, have yet to come to accept Christ. 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:05.920 This is a reminder for each one of us that God does not judge us according to our works. 00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:13.440 But he loves us according to the work of his son, Jesus on the cross. 00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:20.159 And that our acceptance before him isn't because of how hard we work or the things we have done. 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:30.000 The acceptance that we have is only, solely, and exclusively based on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and that alone. 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:37.280 The reason why I can stand before God with confidence today isn't because of anything that I have done. 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:39.360 That's not the gospel. 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:52.320 The reason I can stand before God is because I have been forgiven for my sins and clothed with the righteousness of Christ by grace through faith alone. 00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:57.039 And so this message is the message for all of us. 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:04.639 It's a reminder of how we are accepted by Jesus and how we remain in His presence. 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:07.679 We remain in His presence by grace alone. 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:17.280 These characteristics of being like a child and receiving like a child are characteristics that should be continually a part of our lives. 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:20.320 Every day of our lives. 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:28.400 To realize that I am loved by God not because of what I do, but because of what Jesus has done. 00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:36.960 That I am accepted by God not because I've made myself acceptable, but because I am accepted in the beloved. 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:42.880 That I stand before God as his dear child. 00:36:43.280 --> 00:36:56.239 Not because I continue to earn that status of a child each day, but because he brought me to himself and said I am his own through faith in Christ. 00:36:57.440 --> 00:37:04.800 And so the message here is not just the message for those who have yet to come to Christ. 00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:08.639 It's a message for each one of us each day of our lives. 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:11.440 That we come to Christ. 00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:18.480 We come to Jesus not because we have something to give, but because he calls us. 00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:23.360 And we receive from Jesus freely without trying to earn his love. 00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:27.920 Christ calls us to be like a child. 00:37:28.320 --> 00:37:30.639 Christ calls us to receive like a child. 00:37:30.800 --> 00:37:37.599 That's how we enter into a relationship with Christ, but that is how we live our lives each day. 00:37:38.639 --> 00:37:43.519 If you join me now as I close in prayer, and then we will have a closing song. 00:37:43.679 --> 00:37:44.719 Let's pray. 00:37:46.320 --> 00:37:55.760 Father God, we admit that so much of our lives are trying to earn what we already have that you've already given us. 00:37:56.400 --> 00:37:59.199 We're trying so hard to earn your approval. 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:12.639 And we expend so much effort and energy thinking that we're not accepted by you, thinking that somehow we have to try harder and do more and exert more effort. 00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:20.880 And we think that that is how we are accepted and delighted on by you. 00:38:20.960 --> 00:38:37.440 But you tell us that we are your children through faith in Jesus Christ and that we are accepted and loved by you, not because of the things we do, not because of what we can offer, but by your grace alone. 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:50.239 And so, Father, I pray for us that the gospel in this new year will penetrate our hearts and our minds and our lives in ways that it never has before. 00:38:51.599 --> 00:38:56.880 And that we see ourselves through the eyes of Christ. 00:38:58.559 --> 00:39:02.320 And that we experience the love of our Savior each day. 00:39:02.559 --> 00:39:21.840 And so, Lord, remind us of these truths that we will continue to be like children, not in foolishness or ignorance or naivete, but in humility, trying not to earn anything, but receiving your grace and goodness each day by faith. 00:39:22.719 --> 00:39:27.280 And may we walk in your love and may that love motivate us to please you. 00:39:27.519 --> 00:39:28.880 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:29.760 Amen.